Agent's Dexterity
by MimiMichie
Summary: Hinamori Momo had always been the top spy. ALWAYS. No ifs, ands, buts, or ors. Just... always. Always the best, the finest, the most excellent agent. That is, until he came along. Enter Hitsugaya Toshirou.HitsuHina REVISING AT THE MOMENT
1. Newcomer

New story, new story! I couldn't help it!!! I just had to write this!!!! Oh, and by the way, some characters are pretty OC… **cough** Soifon **cough**

Disclaimer – I. Don't. Own. Bleach.

Ch. 1 - Newcomer

* * *

"Ugh!" she grunted, moving out of the way to avoid the punch that had been thrown her way. 

She quickly moved behind the older woman and twisted her arm behind her back.

The older woman smirked. "Don't underestimate me." She took the younger girl's arm with her free hand and tossed her over her head. The girl landed on the tatami mat and moaned softly. The older woman began to walk out of the room, but the girl reached for her ankle, grabbed it, and swung her across the room. The woman landed against the wall with the thud.

The girl smiled triumphantly. "Don't underestimate me either, Okaa-san."

The woman smiled. "I raised you well, Momo."

"I'm going to go change, ne?"

"Alright. Come to my office afterwards. I have another mission for you."

Momo frowned. "Another one? Didn't I just come home yesterday from one?"

"I'm sorry. This one is top secret and dangerous. You're our _best_ spy -Japan's_best teen spy_- so we all chose you to take this one."

"But, Okaa-san, when will I ever get back to school? I've missed a month already! I never get to see any of my friends anymore!"

"You get to see Rukia," her mother pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's because she's also a spy. I never see any of my _normal _friends."

The doors opened to the practice area to reveal a woman with dark, tan skin and purple hair. She wore her hair in a high ponytail on top of her head, and she greeted them with a smile.

"Ohayo, Aunt Yoruchi." (A/N – This will be the only time that I'm putting Aunt Yoruchi. Momo will call her Yoruichi-san. The only reason I put "Aunt Yoruichi" was to tell you that she is Momo's aunt; her father's… cousin.)

"Yoruichi," her mother said, "what is it?"

"He's here, Soifon." (Ahhhh… yes, she's Momo's mom…. I didn't know any other woman who looks a little like Momo that's good in martial arts… Like I said, she's very OC…)

"Already? Momo, remember to meet me in my office when you're done changing," Soifon said before leaving the room. Momo got up from the floor and grabbed her bag of clothes that was in the corner of the room.

_Another mission… When will I ever receive a break? It's pretty tough… being the great-great-great-great granddaughter of the man who founded this agency. My father just had to be a direct descent of him and inherit the agency along with my mother. Oh, well… I kind of like the life of a spy. It's fun._

-X-

Momo slowly pushed the doors to her mother's office open. She peeked her head through. "Okaa-san? You wanted to see me?"

Soifon, who was in the middle of a conversation with some people, looked up to see her daughter standing in her office. "Momo! Ah, yes. We need to discuss about your next mission."

Momo eyed the people in the room, making sure there wasn't some guy or girl whom looked… bad. She knew most of them. She nodded her head slowly, taking a seat in front of her mother's bureau and watched as everyone left the room.

"Momo, as you know, you're mission will begin soon. You will possibly go as soon as Thursday. We, the council, do not think it will be convenient for you guys to show up so early. Since today is only Monday, you will have one day in school, Tuesday, and then you will have one day to gather all of your equipment, Wednesday."

"You… guys? I have a partner?"

"Yes. Yes, you do."

"Who? Is it Rukia?" Momo asked excitedly.

"No, I'm afraid not. It's a newcomer. He just came today."

"A… newcomer?" Momo asked her mother disappointedly. "You mean I have to… train… this… newcomer? But, he'll slow me down on this mission!"

"Momo, he's a newcomer to this agency. That doesn't mean automatically that he's a trainee. He's a top agent from China."

"China? I have to work with some Chinese boy? Does that mean I have to speak Chinese with him 24/7?"

"He knows Japanese. He was born in Japan and moved to China when he was little. He knows every language you know. Do remember that this boy is a top agent like you. He's really good. He should know everything you know…" her mother hesitated before saying anything else.

"…Maybe even more? That's what you were about to say, right?"

"Well… I don't know if he knows more than you do, but together, you should be a great team."

Momo mumbled, "If you mean being cocky and showing off skills, then, sure…."

"Please, Momo? You have to give him a chance."

"Sure, whatever. Anyways, so what's the mission?"

Her mother opened up a file and showed her the contents. "It seems to be that students from a high school in Osaka are missing. They've disappeared. I need you and your partner to figure out who did it and protect any other students from disappearing."

"Disappearing students in Osaka? _This_ is why I need a partner?"

"This is a dangerous case, Momo."

"I've done more dangerous cases than this."

"What happens if the kidnapper mistakes you for a student and kidnaps you too? I don't want you getting hurt, so that's why I hired this extra hand for you."

Momo smiled. "So this isn't about me not being good but more about me being safe."

"Exactly."

"Then why do we need partners from _China_? Couldn't we just get a top spy from a different agency in Japan?"

"You know that this agency is the top in Japan."

"_Still_. Why… China?"

"No one can protect you as much as he can for you _are _the top agent in this country."

"Okay…."

"Anymore questions?"

"Yes, one more. Where's this… newcomer right now?"

"He said he was going to go train while I talked to you."

"Well, then…. " Momo said, getting up from her seat. She had her bag of clothes in her hand, and she knew where this newcomer would likely be so…

"Momo," her mother said sternly, knowing what her daughter was about to do.

Her daughter smirked. "I just want to know how strong this guy really is," she said innocently, heading towards the door.

"He's not your average guy so be careful, okay?"

"Meaning… I don't have to go easy on him? Yes!" Momo exclaimed. About to walk out of the door, Momo came to a halt and backtracked her steps. She turned around. "What's his name, Okaa-san?"

Her mother grinned. "Hitsugaya Toshirou."

"Arigato, Okaa-san!" Momo rushed out of the office and headed straight towards the girls' locker room. After she finished changing, she headed towards training area #5, the closest one to her mother's office.

Momo slipped into the room quietly, going unnoticed. She saw a guy training with some punching bags. He had short, white hair and wasn't the tallest guy on earth. Sure, he was taller than she was, but a lot of guys that she knew were a whole lot taller than him. So, basically, he was short - for a guy. He was wearing what every other spy wore while training, black karate pants and a black martial arts shirt with a white, cotton sash. She couldn't see his eyes for his back was facing her way.

"Hey!" she called out. He stopped punching and turned around, glaring at her. "Who are you, and what do you want?" he asked her, scowling.

She paused for a minute, looking at his eyes. They were really pretty and extraordinary, unlike hers. They were icy, emerald colored eyes, and although they were only colored emerald, they looked like the real thing. "Well?" he asked impatiently.

She snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh. I'm Hinamori Momo, the top agent here besides my mother and aunt. I heard you're my partner for my next mission, Hitsugaya Toshirou. What I want is a fight, just a little "hands on experiment"." He laughed for a minute of two and then trailed off because he noticed she was being quiet.

"What? You were serious? A fight between _you_ and _me_?"

Momo tapped her foot impatiently and scowled. She knew he was going to act like this. She added in a sickly sweet tone, "Is it too hard for you to understand?"

"No… it's just…" he paused, thinking of how to say it, "you're a girl, and I'm a guy."

Momo frowned. "What are you, a chauvinist?"

"I never said that."

"You implied it. When you said that I'm a girl, and you're a guy, you're implying that you don't think I can fight because I'm a girl, and you can because you're a guy. Well, guess what? That implication is _wrong_. I'm a girl, and I _can _fight, just like you."

"Well, if you think you're up to it, let's go," he said, getting into a stance. Momo stood there and gave him a look like he was the stupidest guy in the agency. When he took no heed or hint of her look, she glanced back at the punching bags and then back at him. "Oh," he muttered, getting out of his stance to move the bags out of the way.

"Wow, he sure is the top spy of China," Momo muttered, getting into her fighting stance. Watching Toshirou come back and get into his fighting stance, she smirked. He smirked too and asked, "Ready?"

Before she could answer, she was picked up from the ground from her torso. She smirked and kicked his stomach before performing a back flip in the air. She landed on her feet and seeing him pant, said, "That wasn't _even_my easy. Still think girls can't fight?"

He flinched before standing up straight. "_That _was only the basics. I've got more up my sleeve."

Sarcastically, she replied, "Uhuh, sure." He headed straight towards her, and she quickly moved out of his way and grabbed his arm, throwing him across the room. She yawned, "Wow, is this really boring."

Before she knew it, she was pinned on the ground, his hands gripping on each arm. She tried to get out of his grip, but he didn't budge. "Don't underestimate me," he whispered. Her face held a wry countenance as she looked up at him. A knock was heard at the door. "Momo?" her mother's voice called. "We should get going now."

Sensing the distraction within Toshirou, she turned it around to where he was on the floor, but his stomach was facing the ground, and his hands were twisted behind his back and held tightly by Momo. "Ouch," he hissed. She growled, "Don't underestimate me because I'm a girl." With that, she threw him against the wall once again. Smiling successfully, she said, "Hope we have a better fight next time!" She turned on her heels and took a step closer to the door with her bag in hand.

Not even another step, she was pushed back against the wall with his hands around her throat. She wasn't surprised. She knew this was coming, and besides, she had been trained to hold her breath up to thirty minutes, so this wasn't too bad.

She quietly raised her hand up to her throat and pierced his skin with her nail. He flinched, but that was the only reaction he made. Seeing no other reaction besides the flinch, Momo dug deeper in his skin until it bled. He let go and flicked his arm back and forth as to get rid of the pain.

"Shit. You made it bleed," he muttered as he wiped the blood off of his hand.

"Momo! Let's go already!" her mother shouted as she banged on the screen slide door.

Momo smiled and picked up her bag that had been dropped on the floor when he pushed her against the wall. "I got to go. That was a nice fight. But," she paused as she slid the door open, "next time, fight me with all you've got." And she left.

"Damn that girl," Toshirou cursed as he gathered his belongings and left to go change. "I shouldn't have gone so easy on her." Toshirou, who was 17 and a junior in high school, slowly took off his shirt in the guys' locker room. He sat down on the locker bench and started to think – a very common thing in his nature. He opened the profile that he received from his agency.

_ Hinamori Momo. Top spy, besides her mother and aunt, of Japan. Fifteen, turning sixteen on June the third. Has only had two past relationships in which both failed. Her first boyfriend was Kurosaki Ichigo, but they both broke up due to the fact that they never really loved each other. Kurosaki now has a girlfriend named Inoue Orihime, a sophomore, classmate, and friend of Hinamori. Her second boyfriend, Izuru Kira, dumped her for another girl, Aki Miyako- the school slut._

_ Hinamori's father is deceased, dying from a deadly disease known as acquired immune deficiency syndrome, also known as AIDS. He received this disease when he traveled to southern Africa for a mission. His name was Hinamori Kyo, and he inherited Japan's top spy agency. After dying, his will stated that he wanted to give his agency to his wife, Hinamori Soifon, and his daughter, Hinamori Momo. Hinamori Yoruichi is the cousin of Hinamori Kyo and aunt of Hinamori Momo. She helps Hinamori Soifon handle the agency, basically like the secretary. _

He stopped reading for a bit as he analyzed the family photo at the bottom. It stated that the picture had been taken when she was twelve, when her father was still alive. If she was fifteen now, it meant that her father died three years ago. She was standing in-between her father and mother, a big smile painted on her face. Her hair was put up in two pigtails with two dog clips on each side.

As he read the rest of the information in the profile, one word popped into his mind,_Rematch._

-X-

"So, how was the fight?" Soifon asked her daughter as she opened the door to their house.

"Mmm… It was okay. He didn't use all his strength on me though…" her daughter replied, placing her bag on the floor.

"What do you mean?"

"He could've been better, but because I was a girl, he went easy on me."

"He's sexist?"

"He's a shitty chauvinist pig," she retorted, opening the refrigerator door to get something to eat. Seeing nothing, she closed the door and opened the pantry door to grab a cup of Ramen.

"Momo," her mother said sternly, also grabbing a cup.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. "No cussing". Well, I can't help it. He's just so… UGH!" she grumbled, heating up the water in the kettle.

"But… is he okay as your partner?"

"As long as he stops being so sexist. That's the main reason why he lost today."

"He lost?"

Momo paused to think. "No… Not really. We both kind of lost. I guess… Last thing was that I pierced his skin, and then you said I had to go."

"I guess you won then."

"We're probably going to rematch it."

"You agreed on that?"

"No, but I want to, and if I have to, I'll force him to."

"Momo," her mother said as she took the kettle off the stove and poured it into each of their cups, "I'm glad you're really into this, but you shouldn't force someone to do something against their will – unless you have to, and I mean HAVE to do it, like when you're arresting somebody."

She swallowed the noodles in her mouth before answering, "I'm still forcing him to."

Her mother sighed as she threw away the cup of Ramen and tossed the chopsticks into the sink. "I guess I can't force you to stop…"

"You bet!" she exclaimed, following her mother's examples. "I'm going to go catch up on homework. I have four week's worth for all those days that I missed."

"All right."

Momo walked to her room and closed the door behind her. She took her laptop from under her bed out and turned it on. Going to a search engine, she typed in "Hitsugaya Toshirou". Many entries showed up of him. She clicked on one website that was in Chinese, but since she learned that language when she was four, she read it with ease.

_**Hitsguaya Toshirou**__ – The Biggest, Iciest __**FAN**__ site ever!_

_**Age**__ – 17, a junior in high school_

_**Birthday**__ – December 20__th_

_**Ethnicity**__ – Born in Japan, lived in China_

_**Languages**__ – Japanese, Chinese, Farsi, Italian, German, French, Korean, Spanish, Dutch, English, Vietnamese, Russian, Thai, Latin, and Swahili_

_**Hobbies**__ – Martial arts and weaponry_

_**Family**__– Lives with aunt, both parents deceased_

_**Career**__ – Top secret! Very famous though for his father was a multibillionaire, and he passed all that money to his son. Number three on the list of most wanted bachelors in China._

_**Likes**__ – Dragons, snow, ice (cold stuff), sushi_

_**Dislikes**__ – Candy and girls – too bad he dislikes girls, I really would love to be his girlfriend; I'm still aiming for that spot!_

Momo snorted. "Ha! Good luck with that!" She pushed the down arrow and read more.

_**Relationships**__ – Zero, so far as I know of._

_**Appearance**__ – One word. HOT._

Momo started to laugh like crazy. Her laughter started to die down, and she murmured, "Wow, people sure are freaking weird these days…. Oh, the page ended. Okay… well, that was interesting. Hmmm… I guess I should print this out as information…" She walked over to a drawer and took out some wires and a folder and walked back over to her laptop. Momo connected the wires to her laptop and to a printer in her room. She clicked "Print". She walked over to the printer and took the sheets of paper that were printed. "Good." She stuck them in a folder and labeled the folder "MISSION OSAKA – DISAPPEARING STUDENTS".

She walked to her laptop and typed in, "Missing students in Osaka." Very few entries were there. She guessed very little was known about the disappearance.

She clicked on the first entry.

_Lately in Osaka, a variety of students have disappeared. All of the students come from the high school, Yamada High in the prefecture Suita. One mother says she thinks that the principal took them for he was gone from school for a month. A teacher says that that is impossible for principal Ibu had taken a trip to America. Many officers say that Mr. Ibu is the top suspect, but they cannot get in contact with him at the moment to question him. This mission has been opened for a week, but investigators say that the more clues they find, the colder the case gets._

_The following students have gone missing._

_**Brown Kikyo** – a freshman in school. She has straight, long, blonde hair that is usually in a pony tail and crystal blue eyes. Her mother is Japanese, and her father is half American and half Japanese. She's very pretty, as her friends say, and she is short and preppy. 5ft tall._

_**Fune Senpaku** – a junior in school. He has dark brown, wavy hair and hazel eyes. He is a very big artist and loves to paint ships. He's tall and lean. 6ft 3" tall._

_**Kurisu Noeru** – freshman in school. Very close friend to Brown-san. She loves to cheer and has shoulder-length black hair and auburn eyes. Five feet tall. She is named after the season Christmas, and she is short and always happy. "Very optimistic," her parents describe her._

_**Jikku Kangen **– senior in school. People have considered her as a stubborn, but sweet, nerd. She has curly, long, red hair and light brown eyes. She is said to be very tall and a major in basketball. She is about 6ft 5". She loves to study biology, algebra, and chemistry._

_**Li Kuro** – A Chinese foreign student that is a senior in school. He has straight, black hair and purple eyes. He plays football and has broad shoulders and is at least 6ft tall._

_**Haku Sakura** – a junior in school. She has short, auburn hair and dark, amber eyes. She loves sports and is the head captain in cheerleading and the swimming team. She is 5ft 2". Haku-san seems to be very popular in school and is said to be very sweet and kind. _

_Haku Sakura was the last to go missing, as we know of. If you happen to see any of these students, please contact the police or any detectives. All phone numbers are listed below. Thank you._

_-News Reporters_

**_Phone #s_**

_**Police** – 110 _

_**Detectives**– Call 110 too and ask to get in touch with a certain detective._

"Wow," Momo murmured as she printed the page and pictures that followed it out. She took the sheets of paper and stuck them in her mission folder. "This is getting interesting."

-X-

She shrieked. Banging on the metal door, she hollered, "Let me out! _Please!_ Let me out! Don't leave me here."

A masculine voice said in the dark, "Shut up, will you?"

"No!" she screeched, turning to face the voice. "I'm doing _my _best to get us out of here! Do you have a better plan?!"

"No, but-"

"Then you should just shut up yourself!"

"Screaming isn't helping us _at all_," another feminine voice retorted. She sat in the corner, fiddling with her skirt.

They all heard a scream from behind the door. "What was that?" the first girl whispered.

"I don't know," one guy answered.

The door was quickly opened and a girl was thrust inside. A man towered over all of them, glaring. "WILL YOU SHUT UP!? Here's another one of you! Get in there, bitch!"

The teenaged girl tumbled inside and fell on the floor. She groaned as the door shut with a bang, and the lock from the outside went back in place.

The girl who was fiddling with her skirt was the first to speak up. "Now, that makes six."

-X-

"Momo! Oh my gosh! You've been out of school for so long! How are you? Your mother said you caught a disease. Leukemia, I think. Was it horrible?" Orihime asked as she hugged her long time no-see friend. Momo sweat dropped. Leukemia? Dramatic much….

"Uh, I guess," she answered softly. "I've missed you guys soo much? How's school?"

Orihime's eyes held a twinkle in them. "Izuru broke up with that slut."

Momo's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

Tatsuki scowled. "Do you want to go out with him again?"

"No," she said timidly, "I'm just wondering."

"Wow, is that the new guy? He is sooo dreamy!" a girl gushed to her friend in the distance, sighing dramatically.

"Oh! I know who he is! He's number three on China's most wanted bachelors list."

Momo turned around, hearing what she read last night on Toshirou's fan's website. And she saw him. She saw Toshirou.

* * *

Done, done, done with the first chapter! I hope you liked it! I'm really into this story. So much… action. My stories are soo… romantic and sap and everything that I wanted something _new_. I dislike sap and all those corny stuff… yet, I have it in my stories. I'm so weird… Anyways, I would love to hear your opinions on the story!

Xoxo MimiMichie


	2. Hikari Ryu

Hey, hey! I've got some reviews that I feel like I should explain to… Momo is OC, but there's a reason for it. I just didn't really pay attention to it…. Haha. I'm sorry. And about the learning Chinese at four, it doesn't mean she learned **all** of the Chinese language and such **only**at the age of four. It means she started to learn it at the age of four. She might have truly learned it all at the age of 7, but she started to learn at four. I started to learn English at the age of four, and now I speak it fluently instead of my native language….

Anyways, I hope that helped you whom were confused! I'm truly glad that you gave up some of your time to tell me what was wrong with it though! It helps me a lot. Now, on with the story!

Disclaimer - ….You know the routine.

Ch. 2 - Hikari Ryu

* * *

_"Chotto matte!" the young girl dressed in a blue dress cried. She ran up to him and hugged him, sobbing into his shirt. "Don't leave. Please don't leave me."_

_He smiled sadly down at her as he brushed her hair down. "I'm sorry. I have to go for this village. For my kingdom."_

_She raised her hands to her head as she tried to wipe the tears away. She felt his fingers brush them away. "Demo… Demo… You'll get hurt! You might die!"_

"_I promise I'll come back to you, okay? Take this rose as a memory of me and a symbol of my promise." He gave her a single, fully bloomed rose and mounted on his beautifully groomed, white horse. He took the reins in his hands and was about to gallop off when she interrupted him._

_She shook her head. "Iie. Take me with you!" she demanded. "If you die, I want to die right by your side! I love you, Hikaru! I want to –"_

THUMP

Momo twitched, shutting the book. _Sap, sap, sap, and well, more sap! Why in the world did they give me such a sappy book to read while I'm "sick"?!! Stupid literature teacher…She just had to give us a reading assignment right when I was about to leave. _Momo took her book and placed it on the bedside table next to her. She turned on the lamp and got out of bed.

She glanced at the other bed in the room where Toshirou slept to make sure he was asleep. _Why did Okaa-san make me share the same hotel room as him? Doesn't she know I need privacy?_

She tore off her pajamas and pulled on some decent clothes. She looked in the mirror and pulled her dyed dirty blonde hair into a bun and tied a blue cloth and green ribbon around it. She then placed her blue-green contacts in. Her mother said that if they were to be a disguise, they'd have to wear a disguise, so she died her hair dirty blonde and bought blue-green contacts. When she went out, she also wore a lot of makeup – not too much but a lot more than she normally would.

Toshirou, on the other hand, dyed his hair a dark cadet blue, and when he went out, he rubbed gel in his hair to make it stick down instead of up. He also wore slate gray contacts.

As she walked around Osaka, she was thinking of earlier that day.

---

_She threw a glare at Toshirou as she marched up to him. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why the heck are you here?" she growled, poking her finger into his chest._

_He pushed her finger down and replied simply, "School."_

"_I know that, but why are you at __**my**__ school!!?"_

_He shrugged. "Your mom applied me here, so don't ask me."_

"_Okaa-san? Arghh!" she grumbled, walking away._

_Rukia looked at the boy before walking up to him. She smirked. "So you're the new guy that Hinamori-sensei was talking about."_

_He nodded as he turned the combination to his locker. Opening the door, he grabbed his books and shut the door quickly. _

"_I'm Rukia, also an agent at the agency."_

"_Why were you so mean to him, Momo?" they both heard down the hall. They turned their heads to watch the scene that appeared before them. Momo shook Orihime's hand off her shoulder. "Because."_

"_Did he do something bad?" asked Tatsuki, catching Momo's pace. She halted as she came upon a thought. "Oh… wait… is it because—"_

_Momo halted and turned around, glaring at her. "Don't say it," she said sharply. Tatsuki caught Orihime's eye and nodded grimly. Orihime mouthed an "Oh…ok"._

_Toshirou turned his gaze towards Rukia. "Is she always like that?"_

"_I don't know," Rukia shrugged before adding quickly, "I mean, I do know, but I shouldn't talk about Momo behind her back. If you want to know why she acts like that, ask her yourself. Ja ne." She ran towards her friends shouting, "Chotto matte, minna!"_

_They turned to see Rukia running towards them and smiled at her. "Where have you been?" Orihime asked. _

"_I was talking to the new student."_

_Then, during period three, which was literature class, the secretary said through the intercom, "May I have Hinamori Momo and Hitsugaya Toshirou for dismissal? Hinamori Momo and Hitsugaya Toshirou for dismissal, please."_

_The literature teacher nodded at Momo. Toshirou wasn't in the same third period as she was. "Well," the teacher began to say, "we only had you back for one day, and you still have all that other homework to catch up on, so I won't give you much homework." She started to open drawers and rummage through them. Finally, she picked up a book titled, "Forbidden Grounds of Love" and gave it to Momo. "This will be your only assignment from me. It is to finish this book. If you're back by tomorrow, however, you do not have to finish it all but please read up to the third chapter by then." Momo took the book graciously and stuffed it in her bag._

"_Arigato," she said as she walked out the door and to the office. On her way up to the office, she met up with Toshirou. He glanced at her and nodded as a greeting. She glanced away from him and ignored him._ "_Hmph!"_

_Opening the door to the office, she saw Soi Fon sitting in a chair, waiting for both of them._

"_Okaa-san?" Momo asked. "What happened?"_

_Soi Fon stood up and grabbed her bag from the floor. "Talk in the car. You too, Hitsugaya."_

_Once in the car, Soi Fon started to explain. "Earlier today… a note was sent out. I want you two to go to Osaka and start early while examining the note."_

"_Ano," Momo said, "what did the note say?"_

"_Four words. Next victim: Hikari Ryu."_

"_Eh? Already? But didn't that Sakura girl… already… get—"_

"_What do you want us to do?" Toshirou interrupted her. Momo scowled and glared at him._

_She said the next few words seriously, "Find him and protect him. You will go undercover as the names Tanaka Takeshi and Nakamura Mizuki. I didn't want to use too much money on you two because most of the money will be used for your food and such, so I only ordered one room for you at the suite."_

_Awkward silence pierced the silent air before Momo finally shrieked, "NANI!? How could you do that? Especially since we're opposite sexes! Can't you—"_

"_Double bed or two singles?" Toshirou, who was much calmer than Momo, asked, glancing out the window._

"_My, my! You make it seem like Soi Fon has a dirty mind, you two!" a voice said from the front seat. A head popped from behind the chair._

"_Yoruichi-san!" Momo gasped. "What are you doing in here? I didn't see you earlier!"_

"_Ahohoho!" she laughed. "I was hiding, of course. Anyways, two singles! We don't want our precious Momo hurt… or anything."_

_Toshirou looked at her like she was crazy. He muttered underneath his breath, "What is up with this family?"_

_Unfortunately, each of the family members heard him loud and clear. They all turned to glare at him. Then they said simultaneously, "Is that an insult?"_

"_Okaa-san! Pay attention!" Momo yelled as a car's tires screeched in front of them, avoiding their own car. Soi Fon steered the car in the correct direction and avoided all crashes. "Ah! Gomen, gomen!"_

_Toshirou didn't pay any attention as Momo lectured her mother on being a more careful driver. 'So this is the top spy family in Japan… Interesting…. They don't really look like it,' he thought as he glanced at the family. _

_---_

_And that was the end of that._ Momo stopped in her tracks to think. _Now that I think of it… He never answered our question… It probably was, though – an insult, that is._

In a sudden rush, she heard footsteps pounding behind her. _Eh?_ She turned around before a hand covered her mouth and a voice said, "Shhh."

She was about to throw him off of her before she heard it. The deep voice of a man as he yelled, and footsteps running in search for something. "Where are you?" he barked. Then he smirked. "You can run, but you can't hide. How many people have I gotten so far? Six, and you will be my seventh. If it isn't a lucky day for you!"

He paused before saying anything else, then added with a glance towards where they were standing, "Hikari Ryu."

-X-

"Where are we going, Hikari-san?" she yelled as they ran, Momo following him.

"Away. Away from that creep." Finally, they stopped at an Internet café that happened to still be opened. "Come on," he said, tugging at her hand. "Let's go in. We'll be safe in here… I think."

She nodded silently as she trudged in behind him. To herself, she was wondering if she should contact Toshirou. _Nah. He'll just take control of everything. I wouldn't even get to do anything! _They found a table far away as possible from the window that didn't have any computers on it.

"So, you're Hikari Ryu," Momo murmured. "You're the next victim, ne?"

He looked astonished. "How'd you know about that?"

She smirked, pointing to a stack of newspapers. "It's almost everywhere."

"Oh," he said sheepishly. "What's your name?"

"Nakamura Mizuki."

"Nakamura Mizuki? I've never heard of you. Are you new around here?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I just moved here yesterday with a… ano… a… relative…"

He nodded as in understanding. "Ahh, I see. No wonder I haven't seen you around yet."

She smiled slightly. "Yeah."

-X-

Toshirou, who had woken up after hearing someone slam the door to the room (he's a light sleeper), was running. He almost panicked not seeing Hinamori anywhere, but he knew that she knew how to fight. The only thing he was really worried about was that she might bump into the kidnapper and get herself kidnapped. "Hinamori!" he called out.

He halted, seeing a funny looking man. He continued to walk but slowly as he followed him. The man had a facemask – a black one too, number one thing to look like a theif, he was wearing all black, suspicious item number two, and three, he was looking around to make sure no one was looking. He was a criminal, all right. Now, Toshirou just needed to see if he was the criminal that he was looking for.

He saw the man peek into a café, and he noticed that the man smirked. Toshirou watched as the man went inside and then quickly followed him.

-X-

Momo stopped talking. Hikari looked at her in concern. "What's wrong?"

She lightly whispered as she stood up. "He's here. Run, go, get away!"

He looked shocked at first and then said, "Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you?"

She shot back, "Well, I'm not the next victim, am I? Now, GO!"

"Too late," a voice said behind them. Momo turned around and scowled, glaring at him.

"You," she hissed, "you're the one that's kidnapping all of these innocent people! Let them be! What did they ever do to you?"

He shrugged. "Oh nothing. I just need them for… something."

"What?" she growled.

He sneered, "None of your business. Now, out of my way. I need that boy!"

Hikari stood in shock in the corner of the room. He knew he needed to go, but he didn't know where. A hand was placed on his shoulder. He was about to yell when the person's hand went up to his mouth to shut him up. "Urusen," a masculine voice said. "Go into the kitchen. I've already asked the manager if I could hide you in there. He's calling the police right now."

Hikari turned around. "Who the heck are you?"

Toshirou looked at him with stern eyes. He growled, "Stop wasting time and go already!" Hikari nodded and ran as fast as he could without being seen to the kitchen. There, he saw the manager rush him inside while talking on the phone.

Momo glared at the man in front of her. She screamed, "NO!"

The man gave a deep growl. "It's a good thing no one's here."

She looked at him, and then saw something gleam in his hand. Her eyes widened, but she didn't have anytime to react. She saw him lunge straight towards her with the sharp knife. Chairs were all around her, so if she moved, she would have a 95 percent chance of tripping. She was kind of clumsy after all. She could jump and land on his back and then fall to the ground. Or, she could do a back flip, land on a table, and then sprain her ankle.

Momo didn't have anytime to think, so she did a back flip and did land on a table. "Ah!" she cried while losing her balance. The table flipped, and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground. She looked up to see the knife coming closer. She tried to stand up and run or do something at least, but it seemed to be that her ankle was sprained or maybe broken.

Momo closed her eyes because she knew what was going to happen. She sat there for a few minutes, waiting for the ghastly pain and cut to come, but it never did. However, she did hear a grunt in front of her. Momo slowly opened her eyes to see Toshirou crouching in front of her.

Toshirou, whose main goal was to pick Momo up before she got stabbed, flinched. He didn't seem to get there in time. When he got there, he felt an excruciating stab at his right arm. Blood started to drip from it. He raised his free left hand, the arm that didn't get stabbed, and strongly gripped around the man's wrist. He forced the man's hand to move back, which made the knife slowly exit the skin. A police siren started to be in hearing distance, and the man sneered, running away, "I'll get him next time, bitches!"

The man exited through the back window. Toshirou walked over to where Momo was sitting. He crouched down next to her. "Daijo-bu desu ka?" She winced as she meekly nodded. He took the bottom of his shirt and ripped some of it off and tied it tightly around her ankle. He reached his hand in pain for her to grab. His other arm was holding her back up, so she could stand up correctly. She was in the middle of standing up when she felt something warm drip onto her hand. She looked down and gasped as she saw where it came from.

"Nani?" he asked, pulling his hand away from her so she wouldn't look at it after she finally stood up.

"Your hand, Hitsugaya-kun! You're hurt," she cried as she reached to touch his hand. He tore it away from her.

"It's nothing."

"Demo… you're hurt because of me! If I hadn't done a back flip, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"It's nothing," he repeated bitterly.

Momo tried to grab his hand once more. He still made it out of reach for her. Toshirou knew she couldn't move from where she was for she still wasn't used to the pain yet. "Give it to me!" she demanded as she continued to reach for his arm.

"No," he said simply. "I don't need any help."

"Why are you being so stubborn?!" she demanded, putting her hands to her waist. Reaching out again, she cried, "Just give me your hand already!"

Then, she tripped and was about to hit the ground when Toshirou caught her. "Be more careful," he said as he steadied her to the ground. She saw that his right arm was free and grabbed it. "What are you doing," he asked, annoyed.

"I'm helping you. Is that such a problem?" she asked as she untied the ribbon in her hair and took the blue cloth off of her bun. She let her hair loose as it swayed upon her shoulder. She took the blue cloth and tied it around his injured arm. Tears started to simmer in her eyes. _Eh? Why am I crying? Demo..._

He looked at her, confused. "Why are you crying?"

"This is all my fault! You wouldn't be hurt if I had called you earlier, or if I hadn't done a back flip, or if I didn't follow that guy, or if—"

He started to chuckle. She started to whack him on the head. "Why are you laughing at me while I'm sitting here, worrying about you?! I feel horrible! Don't laugh at me!!!"

He started to chuckle even more. "HEY! DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME?" she yelled.

"Yes, yes, I did," he said between his laughter. He smiled softly. "I've never seen this side of you before. You should show it more often, really. Stop acting so cruel and cocky like you know everything." He stood up and pulled his arms back to stretch. "Well, anyways, arigato."

He left to go talk to the police whom were outside investigating the place. Momo sat there, confused. She felt her face heat up. Her hand touched her cheeks._Nani? Why am I blushing? Didn't he just… insult me? Or did he just… compliment me?_

-X-

"Oh, hmm… He broke the light switch. For the billionth time, let's think of a way to escape. Maybe we could cause a fire," the new girl suggested as she continued to search the dark room for something to use.

"No way," a male's voice said. "Do you know how dangerous that is? We would probably get burned - or die."

"Hmm…" the new girl said, pondering. "We could… ano…"

A girl wearing a jersey spoke up. "We could use the window."

"What window?" a boy said as he stood up to search the room.

"That one," she said, pointing to a small window near the ceiling.

"It looks like a bathroom window…" the boy said. "Do you think we can reach it?"

"Look for a chair," the new girl cried out. "Or more like… feel for it. It doesn't seem like we can really see anything in this dark place."

A young girl with black hair looked around for a chair, but she tripped over something hard. "Owie, owie, owie!" She felt around for the hard thing and picked it up, examining it. "Hey! Look! I found a flashlight!" she exclaimed in a cheery voice as she held it up in front of her face. "I wonder where the switch is though…."

"Noeru! Give that to me," a feminine voice said. She snatched the flashlight from the younger girl and turned it on. She flashed it around and then pointed it to the new girl. The flashlight slid from her hand and hit the floor with a thud.

"Haku-sempai!"

* * *

Sooo… that's the end of this chapter! Hope you liked it! I'm planning to make this a… 40 chapter story… Actually, I wanted to do fifty, but I thought that's too long.. eheh… or maybe 30 chapters??? Hmmmm….. Ah.. oh well, I'll figure it out soon enough!

Xoxo MimiMichie


	3. Discovered and Uncovered

Sorry for the long update! I've been so busy lately! Thank you to all who have reviewed! I hope this chapter makes up for all of that time. Enjoy!

Disclaimer – Me no own Bleach.

Ch. 3 – Discovered and Uncovered

* * *

_She flashed the flashlight around and then pointed it to the new girl. The flashlight hit the floor with a thud._

_"__Haku-sempai!" _

* * *

Sakura (Haku) looked at the girl who called out her name. She had blonde hair that was put up into a ponytail, and Sakura thought she saw blue eyes, but she couldn't be so sure. It was still dark except for the flashlight in the room. 

"Err… Do I… know you?" Sakura asked. The girl looked pretty familiar, but she didn't think she had ever met her before.

The blonde headed girl thrust her hand to her chest as to indicate herself. "I… I'm Brown Kikyo! I'm one of the cheerleaders! You're the captain, one of the most popular girls in the school. I've always looked up to you, Haku-senpai!"

"Oh… I thought I had seen you around before… But what's the big deal? Why do you seem… so surprised to see me here?"

"It's just… you're so magnificent! I can't believe anyone would ever dare to kidnap you. This person must pay!" Kikyo said vigorously.

"Ano… Brown-san… I think you're exaggerating a bit…"

"But this is Haku-senpai that we're talking about!"

"Ehhh… Kikyo," Noeru said, "just because Haku-senpai is one of the most popular girls in school, I don't think she likes to think herself as… too good to be kidnapped."

"Exactly. Thank you… what's your name?" Sakura asked.

"Kurisu Noeru, but you can just call me Noeru!"

"Thank you, Noeru-san."

"Oh… I didn't mean to offend you, Senpai! I just think… that…" Kikyo said timidly.

"Eh? Don't worry about it," Sakura said happily. "Anyways, who else is in here? Can I see that flashlight, Brown-san?"

Kikyo nodded and handed the flashlight to Sakura. Sakura pointed to a guy in the corner of the room. He had brown, wavy hair. "You are…."

"Fune Senpaku. A junior."

Sakura sweat dropped. "Your parents named you… ship?"

"And your parents named you cherry blossom."

"So?" she snapped. "It's a lot better than the name, 'Ship'. Anyways, you are?" Sakura pointed to the girl near the window.

"Oh, I'm Jikku Kangen. Senior. You know who I am. We were on the same basketball team, remember?"

"Oh, that's right! Wow… it's been so long… We were on the same team last year, right? Basketball season hasn't started yet this year." The girl nodded.

She pointed to the last boy in the room. "You?"

"Li Kuro. Senior. Nice to meet you, Cutie." Sakura scrunched her eyebrows and picked up the closest thing to her, which happened to be a hard cover book, and threw it at him.

It hit him on the head. He picked up the book and looked at it, then glanced at her. "What the? What'd you do that for?"

"Don't ever call me that again! I have a boyfriend, you know!"

"And who would that be?"

"It's… It's... It's my privacy!"

-X-

Momo tossed the newspaper that she was reading to the ground and yawned. A week had passed since the scheme, and they had yet to find a clue. "Got anything?" she asked the boy who sat across the room.

"Iie."

Momo saw the front of last week's newspaper. It was of Hikari Ryu, Toshirou, and herself. It said "Boy and Girl Rescue Victim". It basically just stated some exaggeration of what really happened. Fortunately, Hikari Ryu had yet been kidnapped.

She grabbed another magazine from the floor and started to look through it. Suddenly, she heard the boy say, "Tell me why we had to dye our hair again?" She looked up to see him glaring at his cadet blue hair as his fingers rummaged it.

She answered, "So we could be in disguise."

"Why couldn't we wear a wig?"

"I don't know actually… Usually, we wear wigs. It's probably because it's more advanced than usual."

"Ah. I see. Well," he said, turning off his lamp and climbing into his bed, "I'm going to sleep, okay? You should get some sleep, too. It's already 11:49. Don't overwork yourself."

She smiled. "Okay. Oyasumi nasai."

"Oyasumi nasai."

Momo turned back to the magazine. She stared at it, examining every detail. The title of the article was "Haunted or Just Your Imagination?" There was a picture under it; it was a picture, of course, of a big, deserted looking manor. It had really nothing to do with the case, but she might as well have a look anyways. Then, something in the corner of the picture caught her eye.

She gasped.

-X-

"I can't believe you wanted to go here now. Of all times too. Why couldn't we just go later in the morning?" Toshirou grunted as he stared at the wrecked manor.

"Because in the morning, he'll be awake."

"Why are we here again?"

"How many times do I have to tell you? In the picture of this manor, I swear that there was one of the missing girls in the window."

He looked at her doubtfully. "In the corner of the picture? Why would there be a window in the corner of the picture?"

"Maybe it's the basement's window," Momo responded as she turned the corner of the manor. She looked at the bottom of the manor, but didn't see a single window.

"Maybe… Are you sure it was at the bottom? I don't see any windows down here." Toshirou looked on the other side of the building, opposite to her. The only things over there were more trees and one window on the top floor.

"Positive," Momo answered firmly. Toshirou came back on her side to help her look for the window. They had started looking from the back when they came. Nothing was there. Momo firmly said that there was no door near the window, so they didn't bother check the front of the house. Toshirou said that they would check there if they couldn't find anything.

Suddenly, they heard a car pull up to the front of the house. Momo let out a small shriek as Toshirou pulled her to the ground and into the bushes. They watched from behind the trees and bushes as a tall man with black gear-up got out of the car. He went to the other side of the car and pulled out somebody. Momo squinted her eyes. He seemed so familiar. He was… he was…

And it hit her. "Hikari-kun!" she gasped. "Hitsugaya-kun, he got Hikari-kun! What do we do? Oh my gosh. Maybe we should've kept him at our place. He would've been a lot safer instead of with his parents. I mean, maybe his mom can't protect. But then what about his dad? Oh my gosh, this is our entire fault. What do—"

"Calm down, Hinamori," he soothed. "Take a deep breath and calm down."

Momo took in a deep breath and let it out. She glanced at the older boy. "Should we follow him inside?"

"No. Too risky. We'll figure out a way to save him – all of them. Be patient, okay?" he said, watching intently as the man dragged the gagged person into the house. And then they both heard a clatter somewhere near. Like through a window. Following that noise, they came upon a small window covered by bushes and vines at the bottom of the building.

Momo exclaimed, "That's it, Hitsugaya-kun! That's the window!"

"Wow. They must have gotten a pretty good shot of this if they didn't get any of the bushes and vines."

"Yeah," she agreed. She stared at the wall for a minute or two until she came upon something. "But the vines grew," she pointed out. "They're covering the window now. How are we going to get them out? They're pretty thick and bulky."

Toshirou bent down to inspect them. He tugged at them but nothing came of it. He tugged it on full force and still, nothing happened. "Huh," he grunted. "I'm going to head back and get a pair of scissors."

"Back to the hotel?" she asked, frightened. "But then it'll be too late, don't you think?"

"No, stupid," he answered. "I'm going to go to the car."

"Oh, right." She sighed in relief. "I forgot we came in your car. Wait. You have scissors in your car?"

He shrugged. "Well it came in handy, didn't it? Anyways, I'll be right back, okay? Unless you want to come with me. I think it'd be better if you came with me."

She shook her head. "Iie. I'll be fine. I can manage."

"Don't go anywhere, okay?"

She frowned. "I'm not a little kid, Hitsugaya-kun."

"Just making sure."

"Bastard," she muttered. "Just go. The faster the better." She watched as Toshirou looked at her hesitantly and then walked off. Geez, he was such a worrywart. Didn't he remember that she usually completed all of her missions alone? Solo?

She stood there, waiting for him to come back. Did it really take that long to get a stupid pair of scissors?

"Oh," a voice snarled. Momo jumped with surprise.

"Hitsugaya-kun?" she asked, alarmed. She turned around to not find Toshirou but the man who had just kidnapped Ryu.

"You," she growled, eyebrows narrowing.

He grumbled something under his breath; something that she couldn't understand.

And then she was knocked out cold.

-X-

"Hinamori?" Toshirou inquired, walking around the bushes to the window. He stood still for a minute, a grim look apparent on his face. He looked at the footprints on the floor and noticed that there were two different pairs, excluding his own. One was petite and small; however, the other one was large compared to the other footprint. "Shit."

-X-

"Is she… okay?"

"Ah! Nakamura-san!" a familiar voice entered her ears.

"Eh? Do you know her, Ryu?" a feminine voice asked.

"Yeah. She saved me one time."

Momo's eyes opened. A familiar face entered her vision. "Oh, you're awake!"

Momo slowly sat up and rubbed her head. She winced from the pain. It was a good thing her ankle had healed or else it might have gotten worse. "Ohayo, Hikari-san. How long was I out?"

A girl with shoulder-length black hair who was kneeling next to her answered, "Three days."

"What?!" Momo exclaimed, bolting straight up. Her eyes shot wide open. "Three days!?"

A giggle escaped the girl's lips. "Just kidding! It was more like three minutes."

"Geez, you scared me there!" Momo looked at the girl curiously. "Who are you? Where am I? Oh… wait…"

"Ah! That big, old, bulky man out there kidnapped you, I guess. And then he tossed you in here! This is the basement of the manor. I'm Noeru, by the way. What's your name?"

"The manor's basement? That means…" Momo stood up, a little wobbly on her legs. "Is there a window in here?"

"Ah!" A guy with black hair and a deep amethyst colored eyes stood up. He walked over to the small window and pointed to it. "You mean this one?"

"Yes. Yes, that one. Is there a chair?"

He shrugged. "We looked, but we haven't found one yet."

"Is this room soundproof?"

A girl with red hair answered, pointing towards the wall with the door, "Unless you scream like Brown-san, probably. It's soundproof on this wall only though."

Momo smiled. "Perfect."

Noeru threw her a confused look. "Eh? What are you planning to do?"

"Give me an object that you don't care if it gets broken," Momo instructed, holding her hand out.

Noeru looked around and picked up a random item from the ground. She felt it with her hand. "I think this is a clock. Well, none of these items are mine so do whatever you please with them!" She handed Momo the clock.

The guy looked at them, a little hesitant. "Are you sure we can do that?"

Momo shrugged. "Oh, well. We're prisoners. We need to do something."

"Alright," he said cautiously.

Momo aimed the clock towards the window and threw it with all her might. The window, however, did not crack but did make a loud banging sound. "Hitsugaya-kun! Can you hear me?!" She listened intently for a respond, but couldn't hear one. "Hitsugaya-kun! HITSUGAYA-KUN!"

"Hold on," a muffled voice could be heard.

Momo threw another item against the window. "Hurry up!"

"Shut up."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she screamed, "HURRY UP, BASTARD!"

The window cracked open, and Toshirou popped his head inside. He let out an annoyed sigh. "You're so loud. And stop calling me that. It's Tanaka."

She threw a glare at him and answered, "Just find a way to get us out already."

"I will," he stated, his eyebrows narrowing at her. "Just shut up."

"Hmph."

Toshirou took the vine next to him and pulled it with both of his hands. It was really tough and couldn't break that easily. He held on to one side and tossed the other down. "Hey, see if you can climb up with this."

Momo grabbed on to the vine and pulled on it, lifting herself up a little. Her feet hit the wall, supporting her while her hands gripped the vine. She started to slowly climb up, her hands moving higher, and her feet on the wall shifting up.

The door broke open. Another guy was thrown inside; he had unruly, gray hair and wore a pair of glasses. The man in the mask paused for a minute at the door until he noticed Momo. "Shit," he cussed. He took a knife out of his pocket and threw it towards Momo. Momo's eyes widened before she let one of her hands go and turned around to grab it quickly. Her hand started to bleed slightly as it caught onto the blade. She dropped the knife, moaning as she clutched her hand to her shirt.

"Hey. You alright?" Toshirou asked her. Momo nodded meekly.

The man at the door smirked. "Heh. Looks like I don't need anymore. Ten even. How nice. I'll be right back. I should start preparing. Don't move."

Momo scowled. "Like I'll listen to you."

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter if you don't or do." His eyes pierced at her, making her shudder at the terror. "I'll hunt you down." With that, he turned and slammed the door.

The boy on the ground budged a little before he fluttered his eyes open. "Wh-where am I?"

Noeru smiled at him. "You're in the basement of an evil kidnapper!"

"Eh?" He sat up, rubbing his side from the sore pain.

"Well," Noeru started, but Momo cut her off.

"I'm going. I'll be back with some more supplies to help you guys out, okay? Be careful!" Momo told them as she climbed to the top of the window. "I'd take you guys with me, but the vine isn't strong enough. It's already starting to break."

"Maybe it's because of you," Toshirou muttered as he pulled the vine up.

Momo glared at him. "Are you calling me fat?"

He ignored her and said, "Be on full alert. You don't know what he wants to do with you guys yet."

"And you guys!" Noeru chirped.

"Yeah," Toshirou mumbled. "And us."

"Ja!" Momo called out before she closed the window shut.

-X-

Momo collapsed on her bed after she finished wrapping her injury. "I'm so tired," she complained.

"It's your fault you wanted to go to the manor in the middle of the night," he accused her as he started to take off his shirt.

Momo stared at him for a minute, curious at what he was going to do. When she finally realized what he was about to carry out, she screamed. "Eeeek!" She took the closest pillow and threw it at him with full force. "What are you doing?!"

He caught the pillow and looked at her weirdly. "Changing…"

Momo felt her face heat up as she covered her face with her hands. "Well, go into the bathroom, hentai! Don't do it in _front _of me!"

"Hentai?"

"I don't care what your freaking name is! GO INTO THE BATHROOM AND CHANGE!" she screamed. She started to take random objects to chuck at him. "Get." She tossed a pillow. "Out." She took the notepad from the desk and threw it at him. "Of." She grabbed a bunch of pens started to hurl them at him. "My." She threw another pillow. "SIGHT!"

He dodged the items, putting his hands up to block them from his face. "Okay. Geez, I don't get what you're so upset about."

"YOU DON'T CHANGE IN FRONT OF A GIRL, RETARD!"

"Whatever," he sighed as he grabbed his clothes and closed the bathroom door behind him.

Momo sighed, exasperated, as she continued to mumble 'Baka' over and over again. She stood up and picked up the pillows from the floor and tossed them onto her bed. She flopped onto her bed and sighed. Her eyes started to close, and she started to doze off.

Toshirou exited the bathroom, rubbing his head from all of her screaming. "Annoying," he grumbled. He saw Momo, sleeping. Her blankets were tossed onto the floor from earlier that night when she was in a rush to get to the manor. He sighed, irritated, and picked them up, placing them over her. "Stupid girl."

He went over to his own bed and lied down. He let his eyelids close and pulled his blankets over him. The darkness allured him to sleep.

-X-

"_Papa?" Momo asked as she gazed at the man before her. "Papa, is that really you?" The man smiled at her. Momo flung her arms around him, exclaiming, "Papa! It is you! It really is you! You didn't die after all!" The man exited her embrace. "Papa? Are you okay? You're not talking."_

_He slowly turned away from her and started to walk away. "Papa?" Momo tagged along. "Papa? Where are you going?"_

"_Momo-chan!" Momo turned around to see another tall man who looked familiar._

"_Ah! Otou-san!" Momo nervously said. "How are you? I haven't seen you in awhile."_

"_Fine. Perfectly fine." He laughed and then paused. "AH! Kazuki-san!"_

_Momo turned towards the other man. He started to smile and walked back towards them. "Papa! You've met Otou-san, haven't you?"_

_He nodded, his smile starting to turn into a frown. His eyes held terror and fright. His hands started to tremble. Momo glanced at her father. "Papa…?" She glanced at the other man and noticed that he had an evil glint in his eyes. "Otou-san…?"_

"_We used to be good friends,…" he growled. "But then you stole her from me! You stole both of them!"_

"_Otou-san?" Momo asked, frightened. "Otou-san, what are you doing?"_

_She watched as he took out a needle; plasma oozed inside. "Otou-san…? Stop. Please. Papa just came back. Don't…" Her other father stood, frozen from terror. The needle came so close to piercing his skin… "Don't… Otou-san…"_

_The needle started to stab his skin. "No, Otou-san!" she cried. "Please don't kill him…"_

_"Don't do it," she cried, "again." _

* * *

Sorrrrryyyy for the loooongggg update!!!! So sorry!! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I look forward to your reviews! 

Xoxo MimiMichie


	4. The Birthmark

Thank you soooo much for your totally fantastic reviews! I loved them! And yes, it was a nightmare. Or some-what, anyways. But I'm not going to give that explanation in here (or this chapter). It seemed a bit too early… She'll tell Toshirou on her own time. Slowly, but surely. Sorry. -.-

I'm really sorry for not updating! I've been out and about the house away from the computer for awhile… -.-

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Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer – Bleach will never be mine…

Ch. 4 – The Birthmark

* * *

_The needle started to stab his skin. "No, Otou-san!" she cried. "Please don't kill him…"_

_"Don't do it," she cried, "again."_

* * *

"Papa!" she screamed as she sat straight up from bed. As she sat up, panting, she met the eyes of Hitsugaya Toshirou peering at her.

Toshirou looked at her closely. Her forehead was red and gleaming with sweat, and strands of her dark hair were stuck to her forehead, wet and sticky. Her cheeks, flushed. Her swollen eyes gleamed with tears as water strolled down her red cheeks. Her fingers trembled as they held on tightly to the light sheet-like blanket, her thick blankets kicked off in the middle of the night.

"Hitsugaya-kun…" she let herself whisper silently as her big eyes glanced up at him. "Hitsugaya-kun? What the- What are you doing on my bed? Hentai!"

He leaned in closer and placed his right hand on her sticky forehead. It was extremely hot. "Hinamori. Shut up. You have a fever." Momo let herself be pushed down by Toshirou as she landed onto her fluffy pillow. She watched as he took the sheets away from her. "No sheets. I'll get you some new ones." She nodded silently, obeying his every command. She watched silently as he pulled a pair of pants and shoes on.

"Where are you going?"

"Don't talk, Hinamori. It'll just make it worse," he replied. She shot a glare at him as his back retreated from her sight. He turned around just as his foot entered through the doorway. "But if you must know, I'm getting you some medicine. Now stay put and for heaven's sake, Hinamori, _sleep_."

She stuck her tongue out at him. Seeing him smile and shut the door behind him, she let her head relax on the pillow as her smile faded. "Why did I have that dream again?" she whispered softly, and with that in her mind, she drifted off to sleep.

-X-

Toshirou entered the room with a small white bag wrapped around his arm and a large manila envelope in his hand. He quietly shut the door behind him and placed the bag onto the dresser. He sat on his bed as he opened the bulky envelope. Inside was a piece of paper folded into a small rectangle and a series of metal gadgets.

Toshirou placed the envelope containing the weaponry on the bed and opened the note.

Momo, Hitsugaya, here are some gadgets that our technician just made! Hope they will be useful to you!

_-Hinamori-sensei._

Toshirou narrowed his eyes at the gadgets as he looked at each one closely. He put them all back into the bag and made a mental note to tell Momo about them when she recovered. He wasn't going to ask what freaked her out; he decided to let her tell him on his own time. They only just met a couple of weeks ago.

He froze in thought as he remembered how Momo looked after the dream: scared and confused. It was a side he had never seen before. He wanted to know why she cried. He wanted to be there for her, to help her. It was such a strange feeling to him.

He stood up and walked towards the closet and pulled out new, clean sheet-like blankets and unwrapped it. He quietly placed it over the sleeping girl whose eyebrows narrowed every few minutes.

Momo stirred quietly under his touch. She opened her eyes and squinted automatically at the blurry figure before her. "Hitsugaya-kun?"

"Hinamori. I have your medicine. How are you feeling?" Toshirou asked as he got up from the bed and made his way to the counter. He grabbed two tablets from the bottle and filled a glass with water and handed it back to her.

"A bit better, thank you," she replied as she placed the tablets in her mouth and washed them away with water.

"That's good. Now go back to sleep."

"But-"

"No buts. Go. You're sick, and we have a long day tomorrow. You need to get your rest."

"Okay. Oyasumi nasai, Hitsugaya-kun." Momo wasn't in the mood to fight with her partner. She sighed as she snuggled deeper under her blankets.

"It's three in the morning."

"Urusai."

"Only if you go to sleep." He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're like a mini-parent." All of a sudden, she didn't feel tired anymore.

"Hinamori," he threatened darkly. "Shut up. Go to sleep."

"I'm not tired."

Toshirou leaned over and placed his hand over her forehead. "You're still burning."

"But not tired." She let out an annoyed sigh. "Why are you helping me anyways?"

"You mean even though you've been very bitchy?" He shrugged. "Because you're my partner."

Momo looked a bit surprise. He was, after all, her first partner she had ever had besides Rukia, and it was weird to have someone caring after her. She felt touched at his words and smiled. "Ne, Hitsugaya-kun?"

"Nani?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Only if you sleep afterwards." He looked at her expectantly.

"Yeah, yeah. Do you think I'm really bitchy?" She knew she was bitchy, but she wanted to hear him say it. To confirm it.

"Hell yeah."

She smiled. "You know what I think? I think you're a sexist."

"Only when fighting," he admitted gruffly. It's not like he _meant _to be chauvinistic. It was just when he was fighting with or against a girl, he had this powerful urge to protect her or soften on her because he was afraid to hurt her. It was his weak spot, and he hated it.

She laughed softly and looked at him, pleased. "Ne, ne, Hitsugaya-kun? I'm sorry for being bitchy. I don't mean to be."

"Don't worry about it." Toshirou had noticed that the reason she had been bitchy to him, a stranger, and she had been nice to her friends, close people, was because being bitchy to strangers was almost like her barrier to keep people from hurting her. Why, though, he had no clue. "I understand."

"Really?" Her face was a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"Yeah. Go to sleep, Hinamori."

"I guess." She closed her eyes. Maybe she was sleepier than she thought she was.

Toshirou looked at her sleeping form and wondered where her question even came from. He had to admit, when he looked at her, he felt a strange twisting feeling. A stronger feeling to protect her from something albeit didn't know what from. He always had an urge to protect women, and he shrugged it off as just that.

Though he had absolutely no clue.

-X-

The sun peaked through the window, its rays shining as bright as ever. Momo squirmed, feeling the heat against her eyes. Toshirou pulled a shirt over his head and noticed the girl arousing from her slumber. "Hey, you feeling better?"

"Yeah," she smiled brightly. "Thanks for yesterday."

"Yeah, whatever." He grabbed the manila envelope and tossed it to Momo, who caught it swiftly. "That's from Hinamori-sensei. Some gadgets we can use."

"Oh… okay." Momo fingered each of the familiar gadgets. "It really would've helped us if she gave us this before the mission."

"She said they just made those. They're brand new or something."

"No… I always use these when I go on missions. They're pretty old. She lied to you," Momo stated simply. "She forgets about stuff and then tries to cover it up later. That's just like her. Or it's Yoruichi-san."

"Oh." Toshirou shrugged. "Hurry up and get dressed."

Momo pushed the sheets away from her and got off the bed. "Okay. Where are we going?" She walked to her drawer and pulled out a pair of clothes and walked to the bathroom.

"You know that guy we saw last night?"

"Hikari-san?" She closed the door behind her and started to change. She pulled of her pajamas and pulled her shirt on, carefully avoiding her bandaged hand.

"No. That guy who entered while you were escaping."

"Oh. You mean that gray-headed guy." Momo pulled on a pair of jeans and then brushed her teeth. She combed her hair and applied a bit of makeup. Momo thought she was missing something and then realized she didn't have her contacts in.

"Yeah."

Momo peered at herself in the mirror. She hoped she looked like a Nakamura. She sprayed a whiff of perfume. "Perfect." She turned around and exited the bathroom. "What about him?"

"I was thinking we should go check out the scene that he was kidnapped at."

"Where would that be?"

He tossed her a new newspaper. "It's on all the papers. His name's Toru Roka. He's a junior, and he got kidnapped while he was walking home after going to the movies with his friends. Somewhere around Nadeshiko Park."

Momo nodded as she stared at the boy's picture under the newspaper's headline.

"And there's something else that I noticed," Toshirou said as he pulled up pictures from his laptop and zoomed in at their necks. He had noticed it that morning after Momo had fallen asleep. Once he woke up, he could never go back to sleep until it was dark again, so he spent the time researching. He moved from picture to picture of the students, all zoomed on one spot of the neck. "Do you see it?"

Momo had noticed it on the first picture. It was a small brown star an inch under the left ear. Her eyes were wide, filled with fear and confusion. Her fingers slowly traced each star. "That's… What does it mean?" Her fingers dropped as she fingered her own neck.

"I don't know. I'll have to look it up." He started to search the Internet about star birthmarks.

"Hitsugaya-kun, I have it. That star. _I have that star on my neck._"

He immediately looked up from his laptop. She had the star? _Hinamori Momo_, who did not live in Osaka? Every child who had the star lived there, so how could she have had it? Of course, this is what came up with his logical thinking. He wasn't absolute. He saw her lift her hair up and point towards a small star on her neck. "What? How?"

Momo ignored him and pulled out her cell phone. She speed-dialed her mother's number and placed the phone against her hear. Her mother gave birth to her. She must have noticed the star and researched it.

"_Ohayo, Mo-_"

"Kaa-san?" Momo asked impatiently. "You know my birthmark? The star on my neck that you told me to brush off? Well, I want answers, and I want them now."

"_Answers? It's just a pretty birthmark, sweetie_."

"Sure, it's just a pretty birthmark. That's why this weird guy is trying to collect teens with the same birthmark," Momo replied sarcastically, ignoring the looks that Toshirou were throwing her.

"_Oh. Damn, I didn't know it would actually come to this_."

Momo's whole body filled with worry. "What is it, Kaa-san? What's with the star? Why does he want it? Why do I have it? What does it _do?_"

"_Momo, sweetie, just calm down_." Momo could hear her mother sigh on the other end of the line. "_I never actually thought I'd have to tell this to you. You, yourself, do not come with any power from the star."_

"Power," Momo repeated. Toshirou urged her to turn it on speakerphone, and she reluctantly pressed the button. "What does that mean?"

"_There are ten people in the world at the moment who have the same birthmarks." _Her voice was a bit muffed from the cell-phone connection, but it rang out clearly.

Momo recalled the man with the mask saying something similar. "_Heh. Looks like I don't need anymore. Ten even." _Her eyes widened. _Does that mean Hitsugaya-kun…_

"_Oops, let me correct that. Nine. There are nine with that birthmark. Sorry_," her mother apologized. Momo listened, confused. Why would the man want ten if there were nine? "_There is a special one who has a different birthmark. It's a dragon that surrounds the person's right shoulder_."

"Nani?" Toshirou asked instantaneously. "That's my birthmark."

"Oh, great. What a huge coincidence. The people who are to save them might actually danger them." A trace of sarcasm was apparent in her voice.

"_Ooh… That's not good. You see, if all ten of you touch each other at the same time, there will be a… er… a big bang. Well, not exactly an explosion, but an immense power will form together inside each of you when all of you touch_," her mother explained. "_You only have to touch once together for your powers to awaken. After that, you don't need to touch. Your power will be individual."_

Momo bit her lip. "What's the power?"

"_It depends. Each person has a different power related to the stars. But the one with the dragon, that's you Hitsugaya-san, has the strongest power. I know for sure that he has the frost power."_

"Frost," Toshirou deadpanned. When people said it like that, it sounded like frosting. Or whipped cream. It didn't seem to be so powerful.

"_Frost, ice, water, snow. Whatever." _Her mother continued, "_I don't know how this man knows, but he probably researched it. There is a way to extract the power from you guys. He needs five drops of blood from every person at the spot of their birthmarks, and he mixes it together. If he drinks that blood, he gains your powers, and you loose them_."

"And you tell me this now?" Momo asks with bewilderment. "Kaa-san!"

"_I didn't think you'd ever need to know! Now that you need to, at least I know the information, so be happy,_"her mother ordered.

"How are we supposed to save them now?" Momo asks worriedly. "What if we all touch together on accident? Then our powers will arouse, and we won't be normal! Kaa-san!"

"You already aren't normal."

"Hitsugaya-kun, now's not the time to joke, okay? I'm a bit worried here. What if we can't control our powers? Why do we even have powers? What happened to our some-what normal lives?"

"_Momo, please calm down. It's okay if your powers awaken. As long as this man doesn't extract anybody's blood. And if it does awaken, then we'll take you back after the mission and train you. It's that simple."_

"How can you train us if you don't have the power?"

"_You inherited the mark from your aunt, Momo. Does Yoruichi's speed ring a bell?"_

Momo stared at her phone. She realized that Yoruichi was faster than most people. "I thought she was just a fast runner."

"_Faster. That's from the mark. They somehow got together by accident and interacted, causing their powers to arise_."

"Well, thanks for telling me fifteen years later. When I need you, I'll call you. Bye-bye."

"_Sorry, sweetie. Ja ne._"

Momo shut her phone, still staring at it. Her thoughts had wandered off. Her powers… His powers… Their powers… How normal people like them could even get powers… She sighed.

She felt swift movement behind her and turned around. Toshirou was packing up his laptop and its wires into a bag. He looked up once he sensed her eyes. "Stop worrying, idiot. Powers will be like being a stronger agent. No one has to know about them but you. Get a move on now."

They weren't exactly the most comforting words, but they comforted her anyway. She ignored the insult and smiled at him. "Thanks."

"Yeah, whatever." He swung his bag around his shoulder. "Come on."

She was glad to have him around she had to admit. Which kind of shocked her. She sighed. He was making her go crazy. She grabbed her shoes from the door and followed him out the door. Yes, it was a hectic day.

Or it was going to be.

-X-

"The fingerprint belongs to Takaya Ichiya. He's forty-two and lives here in Osaka." Toshirou pulled his picture up from his database. They had scanned around the area and had found a few fingerprints. Momo had brushed them up, and her partner had scanned them into his computer and logged into his agency's database. It seemed that four pairs of the fingerprints belonged to high school students. The last pair seemed to be the perfect match.

Momo peered at the face that popped up on Toshirou's laptop. He had dark blue eyes and longish black hair that fell above the nape of his neck. His jaw was squarish as his mouth held a frown. His eyes were dull and lifeless. "That's not right… The guy who kidnapped me had green eyes…"

"They could be working as a team, Hinamori."

Momo just nodded. She knew he was right immediately. "Ne, I wonder how Hikari-san and everyone else is doing right now…"

"Does it matter? I'm pretty sure Takaya and the other guy won't do anything until they get all ten of us. And the last two is us, so I'm pretty sure they'll be fine."

"How are we supposed to get them out and kick the guys' asses into jail?"

"It's called, 'calling the police'."

"Shut up," she scowled, hitting him lightly on the shoulder. "You know what I mean."

"Well, the guy is either stalking us right now, or he's planning to, but I don't sense any eyes on me besides yours, so I'm pretty sure he's at home planning something in his wretched mind. Being that the window is our only safe way in, he probably boarded that up with wood since it's the easiest material to obtain and use immediately at the moment."

Momo was deep in her thoughts, comprehending what he was saying to her. Her thoughts drifted off to the gadgets her mother gave her. "Oh, there's an igniter with the gadgets. It can cut while being lit. I think we can break in with that."

"Okay. That's good," he confirmed.

"And from there," she continued excitedly, "we can break in and kick the guys' ass!"

"Hinamori, we don't know how many there are."

"So? I've got a backpack full of handcuffs. Gotta love those," she smiled brightly. "But we have to prevent everyone from touching at the same time. Or else we'll be in danger, and it'll be easy for one of them to get blood from us."

"Hinamori…"

"We're going on a whim, Hitsugaya-kun. You're way too serious; did anyone ever tell you that? You have to be so exact."

"I'd rather be safe than sorry. I like to get the facts straight out before I go ahead and make a rueful mistake."

"I guess… But if you don't know exactly what's going on, you can't figure out exactly what will happen and exactly what we have to do. I think we should just bust in and fight them as is," she grinned. "We can win if we work together. Well at least, I know I can."

"Did anyone ever tell you you're really cocky?" he smirked.

"I try my best," she sighed contentedly, smiling. So maybe she was loosing her barrier just a little bit by joking around with him. But he was her partner. And she needed to trust him. Without the trust… how were they going to work together?

She wasn't big on trusting people, but it seemed her mother was going to put him as her life-long partner. She might as well loosen that barrier a bit and start working well with him. And when she became closer to him, maybe she'd tell him that secret that lied deep, deep down within her heart and brain. The one that started the whole "no trusting thing". Maybe. At least the guy came in handy. With a laptop.

"Overconfident, much."

"Sadistic jerk, much."

"Idiot."

"Chauvinist."

"Icy."

"Me? That's you! Grim reaper!"

He gave her a strange look. "What?"

"I don't know! You're always so grim looking! I just say whatever comes into my head!" she protested, placing her hands on her hips.

And, she added to herself, it was nice to joke around with someone. Maybe it was okay to let the barrier down.

Just a little.

-X-

"Ne, Haku-senpai, what's that on your neck?" Noeru asked curiously as she pointed the flashlight towards Sakura's neck. Everyone turned their heads towards Noeru and then Sakura.

"Eh? This? It's my birthmark. Why?" Sakura always knew she had a different birthmark, but she never paid much heed to it.

"Because… I have the same one on my neck too. See?" Noeru flashed the light towards her neck. Her best friend, Kikyo, and herself had thought it was a really cool thing for both of them to have the same birthmark. It gave them plenty of joy.

"Me too!" Kikyo piped up.

"Hey… that's weird," Senpaku said. "'Cause I have it too…."

"Same," the redhead girl spoke up.

"Hey, I've got the same thing on my neck as the Cutie," Kuro smirked, pointing towards his neck.

"Li!" Sakura screamed, frustrated. She despised the big flirt.

"Woah, that's pretty strange because I have it too. That's wack, man. I wonder if it means something," Ryu thought aloud. His mother had always gushed that he had the prettiest birthmark. He had always been embarrassed by it.

The new guy pushed up his glasses. He gave them a keen, stoic expression. He had always thought it was weird to have a star-shaped birthmark and had researched it way back. "It does."

"Hey, what's your name again?" Noeru asked, flashing the light towards him.

"Noeru, now's not the time," her best friend explained impatiently. "What does it mean?"

"My name's Toru Roka. And that star gives power," he stated simply.

"Power?" This immediately perked Kuro's interest. "What kind?"

"Depends," the guy glared. "Are you going to use it for good or evil?"

"Good. I'd like to pick girls up with a cool power."

"Not what I meant," he stated seriously. "It's a big responsibility. If all of us, and two more, touch at the same time, our power will awaken. Each person has a different power. I have a feeling this guy's after our power. If he manages to obtain five drops of blood from each of us – and he has to extract it where our mark is - and mixes it and then drinks it, we will lose our power, and he will gain it. He probably will use it for something evil. The power, of course, has to be awaken first."

"I always knew there was something wrong with me," Ryu sighed.

"You're kidding!" Noeru exclaimed. "That's so cool!"

"Who are the other two?" That was what had perked Kangen's interest. She removed a stray strand of red hair away from her eyes. If they never came, nothing could happen. Hopefully.

"Dunno," he sighed. "But one of them has a special birthmark. It's a dragon on the right shoulder. That person's the strongest."

"Wack," Ryu sighed.

"Weird," Kikyo said in disgust. She was hoping to be normal and popular, not a dork. But she suddenly perked up when she realized her best friend _and_ her role model had powers too. That was a different story.

"Awesome!" Noeru exclaimed with glee. Oh, how she would love to have powers.

"This is too much," Sakura sighed, placing her head on her hands. She should've known about this way earlier. And now she's told when she's sixteen? Unbelievable.

Oh, things just started heating up.

* * *

Well, there's a sudden twist. So maybe there's not only karate and kung-fu but also magic! I've had this planned for awhile… and I finally got it down on paper! Yay! Anyways, make an author's day happy and click that button down there that says "Go". :)

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Hope you liked it!

Xoxo MimiMichie


	5. Author's Notice

**Author's Note**

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**After a long period of consideration, I have decided to RE-EDIT this story. I will not delete it in any case, but if you happen to come across it again and find it different, it is because I edited it, and when I say edit, I seriously mean MAJOR EDITING. **

**The story will be based on the same plot, the characters will be the same, but it will probably start a bit differently, and many of the chapters will be changed. I really like the idea I have in my head for this, but the ending I had at first kind of clashes with what I have now, and I'm not really enjoying the story, so I came to the conclusion of changing everything.  
**

**Meaning: THIS STORY WILL BE REVISED.**

**I'm sorry to all of you that have been eagerly awaiting the newest chapter and found that this is not it. I hope to have the revised story up soon, but in the meantime, please enjoy this really... bad piece of work.... I'm serious. What I've written so far, I haven't really liked.**

**By the way, when I read your reviews, I feel really, really happy, and I love them all. I'm extremely sorry if you're disappointed in seeing it be revised, but I'll try to keep your reviews in consideration of what I'm changing. :)  
**

**Again, I'm SORRY!  
**

**xoxo MimiMichie  
**


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